When to visit India, month by month

India is not one climate. It is a continent pretending to be a country, and the right question is never 'when should I visit India' but 'where should I be in the month I can travel'.

October to March is the classic window for the north and the plains: Rajasthan, Agra, Varanasi, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh are all clear, cool and dry. December and January bring genuinely cold desert nights, so pack a jacket you would use in a European autumn.

November to February is also the pick for Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Goa. The south stays warm but shrugs off the humidity, backwater mornings are misty, and the sea is calm enough for swimming.

March to May belongs to the Himalaya's lower reaches — Dharamshala, Rishikesh, Darjeeling, Sikkim — while the plains bake. Rhododendrons flower in the hills and the crowds have not yet arrived.

June to September is monsoon everywhere except the high Himalaya. That is exactly when Ladakh and Spiti open: passes clear, valleys turn green along the rivers, and the light is extraordinary. The Western Ghats are also spectacular in rain if you accept leeches and slow roads.

If your dates are fixed and your destination is not, tell us the month. We build the route around the weather rather than the other way round.